Sereine Mauborgne (MP, France); Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany); and Johan Büser (MP, Sweden) – the Chair, ViceChair, and Rapporteur, respectively, of the Third Committee – met with Paweł Kotowski, Plenipotentiary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Poland’s 2022 OSCE Chairmanship and Head of the Task Force; Pawel Radomski, Director of the UN and Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; leaders of the Polish Parliament’s OSCE PA Delegation and human rights committee; senior officials of the OSCE/ODIHR, and several others.
In a meeting with Kotowski, representing the OSCE Chairmanship, the sides discussed hopes and expectations for the coming year, particularly highlighting the importance of enhancing efforts to organize the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. The PA Members jointly praised the readiness of Poland to assume the OSCE Chairmanship in challenging times, yet stressed that holding the OSCE Chairmanship also means that Poland should lead by example.
Meeting with leaders at the OSCE/ODIHR, the PA Members expressed support for their work and encouraged a robust approach to human rights monitoring, as well as strengthening PA-ODIHR co-operation on election observation and developing standards for gender-sensitive parliaments. The PA Members also stressed the importance of civil society participation in the OSCE. Topics of discussion with civil society groups in Warsaw included gender and LGBT+ rights, independent judiciary, judicial reforms, migration, rule of law and freedom of entrepreneurship.
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Committee Rapporteur Büser welcomed in particular the opportunity to meet with Polish non-governmental organizations and stressed the vital input of civil society in his work. Büser is currently developing preliminary ideas for his report and draft resolution he will present in Vienna at the OSCE PA’s Winter Meeting on 24-25 February.
The parliamentarians reiterated concerns related to the treatment and humanitarian needs of irregular migrants crossing into Poland from Belarus. They noted that the migrants in question are victims in a political game, and stressed that they must be cared for and granted rights to request asylum regardless of the method of entry. The Members informed officials of their willingness to visit the border region and help assess the situation.
The Warsaw visit of the human rights committee leaders also included discussions with members of the Polish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, led by Barbara Bartus. Talks with the Polish parliamentarians focused on the role of Poland in the OSCE, particularly as host of ODIHR, and the strong support offered by the Polish Parliament to the PA’s work.